THE ARRIVAL in VENICE:
According to tradition, the remains of the Saint were taken in Constantinople, along with those of Saint Agatha, by the Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo in 1204.
In the city there was already a church dedicated to the Saint (built in the second half of the twelfth century) so it is plausible that the decision to move the body of the Saint in the Lagoon was due, as happened for similar cases, to the need to enrich a Venetian church. However, the remains were first brought to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. On the feast day (13 December), the flow of pilgrims was so massive that in 1279 some drowned due to a capsizing of boats. So it was that the Senate, to prevent further incidents, established that the relics were transferred to a city church: with a solemn procession, on 18 January 1280 the body was taken to the church of Santa Maria Annunziata or the «Nunciata» in the district of Cannaregio.
A new church, dedicated to Lucia and where her remains were laid, was consecrated in 1313. The relics of the martyr were then taken to the nearby church of San Geremia, where they are still found today, July 11, 1860.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION of the SANCTUARY:
The ancient basilica building with three naves stood parallel to the Grand Canal. The presbytery was rebuilt in the sixteenth century according to the indications of the Council of Trent. In the seventeenth century the Romanesque bell tower was raised thanks to the addition of the current bell cell.
The church is a large building with a Greek cross, whose arms face, with the exception of the apse, on the main roads: Canale di Cannaregio, Canal Grande, Campo San Geremia. The elevation on the Grand Canal corresponds to the chapel of Saint Lucia and outside there is the inscription:
“Lucia Vergine di Siracusa in this temple rests. To Italy and to the World inspire light and peace”.